Danesha Adams

CHICAGO (June 5, 2007) -- U.S. Under-21 Women’s National Team head coach Bill Irwin will bring 24 players to a training camp in Portland, Oregon, from June 6-13 in what will be the final camp before he chooses the 2007 U.S. Nordic Cup Team, which will travel to Vassa, Finland, from July 12-25 for the annual Nordic Cup tournament.

Held in Northern Europe every summer, the USA has competed in the tournament for well more than a decade, as it has become the focus of the USA’s oldest youth national team during its six-month run-up to the prestigious competition. In respond to FIFA moving oldest FIFA world championship for women from Under-19 to Under-20, this year the Nordic Cup moves from an Under-21 competition to an Under-23 tournament (it was staged as a U-20 event from 1990-1997) and Irwin will bring an 18-player roster featuring a mixture of U-21 and older players to Finland.

The USA has won eight Nordic Cup titles, including seven in a row before falling last year in the championship game to Germany. The USA won the last Nordic Cup contested in Finland in 2002, defeating Germany, 3-1 in the final.

While the Nordic Cup has long featured eight teams and three group games followed by a placement match, this year’s format calls for two group games and then a placement match, giving the USA little room for error in the first round to earn a berth to the title game, which will pit the winners of Group A, featuring England, Finland and Germany, and Group B, which will feature Norway, Sweden and the USA. The American women open with Norway on July 18 in Närpiö, followed by the match against Sweden on July 22 in Vaasa. The placement matches are on July 24. All the matches are in and around Vassa on the west coast of Finland right on the Gulf of Bothnia.

Irwin’s Portland training camp roster features seven players who competed for the USA at the 2006 U-20 Women’s World Championship in Russia, and several other players with extensive youth National Team experience, including defenders Kendall Fletcher (14 U-21 caps), Manya Maksoki (19 U-21 caps) and Rachel Buehler (14 U-21 caps), and midfielder Sarah Huffman (22 U-21 caps), all of whom played on the USA’s 2002 U-19 team that won the first FIFA youth world championship.

“This roster is close to the team we will be taking to Finland, but there are several players not in camp that are in running and several players coming to Portland trying to show they deserve a spot on the final 18-player roster,” said Irwin. “We’ve had some good preparation this year with matches in England and Germany, as well as the tournament in Alabama, and this group is highly motivated to go to Europe and win back the Nordic Cup.”

Irwin has three attacking players who showed to be among the best in the world in their age group during their FIFA world championship experience.

Midfielder Angie Woznuk was one of the stars of the U.S. team that finished third in the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship in Thailand. She won the Silver Ball as the second most outstanding player and the Bronze Boot as the third leading scorer in the tournament. Forward Megan Rapinoe scored three times for the USA in Thailand and forward Danesha Adams won the Bronze Ball as the third most outstanding player at the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship in Russia. All three have a smattering of caps for the full Women’s National Team.

After winning its first Nordic Cup in 1997 (over Norway in Denmark), the USA has won an amazing eight out of the last 10 Nordic Cups, and seven in a row from 1999-2005. Age eligible players for the 2007 Nordic Cup are those born on or after January 1, 1984.

MOBILE, Ala. (April 28, 2007) – The U.S. Under-21 Women’s National Team fell in penalty kicks to the Canadian Olympic Development Team after playing to a 0-0 draw in the championship game of the 2007 Futbol Internacional Tournament.

The U.S. team had won both its previous games in the six-team tournament by 2-0 scores but could not find a way past Canadian goalkeepers Taryn Swiatek and Karina LeBlanc, who have 20 and 50 caps respectively for Canada’s senior side.

Canada’s Olympic Development Team featured a mixture of national team veterans and young prospects.

The U.S. team had more of the chances during the match, out-shooting Canada by a 13-3 margin, but failed to finish into open nets on at least one occasion in each half.

The match ended 0-0 after regulation time and went straight to penalty kicks. After Canada’s Amy Vermuelen converted her team’s first chance, U.S. defender Stephanie Logterman had her kick saved by LeBlanc, and that would eventually be the difference as each team then made all the rest of its kicks before Canada’s Paige Adams knocked in her team’s fifth chance to end the game.

The U.S. U-21s will come together again in late May for a trip to Germany, where they will play three top German women’s clubs. U.S. head coach Bill Irwin is preparing the U-21s for the annual Nordic Cup, which this year will be held in Finland from July 18-24. The USA won seven Nordic Cup titles in a row before falling last summer to Germany in the title game.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama (April 24, 2007) – The U.S. Under-21 Women’s National Team cruised to its second win in as many games at the 2007 Futbol Internacional Tournament in Alabama, defeating the Trinidad & Tobago full Women’s National Team by a 2-0 score at the Alabama A&M Football Field.

The USA used goals from forward Kelsey Carpenter, her second in as many matches, and midfielder Angie Wonzuk, to win the match and Bracket A, giving them a spot in the championship of this six-team tournament on April 28 at Baker High School in Mobile against either Argentina’s full Women’s National Team or Canada’s Olympic Development Team.

The Canada ODT and Argentina’s WNT tied, 1-1, in the day’s other match. Mexico’s U-21s and Argentina will play the final match of Bracket B on April 26. A tie or Mexico win in that match would send Canada to the championship game while Argentina will need a win.

U.S. head coach Bill Irwin made eight changes from the starting lineup that defeated China’s U-21s two days ago, and made the nine allowed substitutes during the match, with goalkeeper Joanna Haig and team captain Rachel Buehler the only U.S. players going the full 90 minutes. The USA’s team had a sputtering start to the game which was made even more choppy by constant whistles and some sub-par finishing from the Americans.

“There was no intensity in the first half,” said Irwin. “We had loads of chances, we should have been up after five minutes and we almost scored 20 seconds into the second half, but the finishing just wasn’t good enough.”

The U.S. got a goal and an assist from Woznuk, who had a spectacular tournament at the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship in Thailand, winning the Silver Ball as second best player in the tournament and the Bronze Shoe as the third best scorer.

“It was a really ugly game,” said Woznuk, who has one cap for the U.S. WNT. “The field wasn’t good and at the start, T&T came out with a lot of energy while we didn’t. We made some changes middle of the half and halftime and those girls brought a lot of energy to the team. That allowed us to get control of the game, knock it around more and we took control.”

It was Woznuk who finally made a dent, firing in a free-kick from just outside the penalty area on the left side with 20 minutes left in the game, bending her shot into the upper right corner to make it 1-0.

“I think the goalkeeper lost sight of the ball,” said Woznuk of her goal. “Earlier today we practiced some free kicks and that was where I was hitting them, so it felt good. The goal kind of opened up the game. Once we got that, we got the second one pretty quick.”

Woznuk set up the second goal just six minutes later, gaining control about 40 yards from the net before lifting the ball over the defense to Carpenter, who ran past her defender, took a few dribbles and hit her shot low into the right corner from about 15 yards out.

The U.S. team now awaits its opponent for the championship game, where Irwin will be looking for a better performance from the oldest youth team in the Women’s National Team programs.

“I want them to come out committed, ready to work and out-work the other team,” said Irwin. “We need to put them on under all sorts of pressure, but first they all need to come and roll up sleeves, raise their level and do the work. Today, there was no intensity, we thought we could just step on the field and win this game. All of sudden, they found themselves getting out-hustled and we could have been a goal down. Hopefully, after the little chat we had at halftime and at the end of the game, the group I put out there will work their tails off in the final.”

Irwin is preparing the U-21s for the annual Nordic Cup, which this year will be held in Finland from July 18-24. The USA won seven Nordic Cup titles in a row before falling last summer to Germany in the title game.

CHICAGO (April 22, 2007) – The U.S. Under-21 Women’s National Team opened the 2007 Futbol Internacional Tournament in Alabama with a solid 2-0 victory over China’s U-21s at the famed Legion Field in Birmingham. Texas junior Kelsey Carpenter and substitute Kelley O’Hara, a Stanford freshman, both scored second half goals to lead the USA to victory in the first international match of the year for the U-21 women.

The six-team, nine-match tournament features the U.S. U-21s, China’s U-21s and Trinidad & Tobago’s full Women’s National Team in Bracket A while the full Women’s National Team of Argentina joins Canada’s Olympic Development Team and Mexico’s U-21s in Bracket B. Canada beat Mexico, 1-0, in the day’s other match.

The two group winners will play for the championship, the second place finishers will play for third and the third-place finishers in each bracket will meet for fifth place.

The USA dominated the match from the beginning, but forwards Danesha Adams and Carpenter wasted golden chances in the first half, and the USA had to show patience as they found it difficult to navigate through a defense-minded Chinese team.

"I thought the game went very well possession-wise,” said O’Hara, one of the standouts for the USA at the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship in Russia who will join the full Women’s National Team in Residency Training Camp after the end of this tournament. “They had very few chances and we had so many right in front of the goal. It could have been 3-0 at halftime.”

Carpenter finally broke through in the 57th minute when midfielder Amanda Poach, who had both assists in the game, won a fifty-fifty tackle at the top of the penalty area and then put Carpenter behind the defense for her to finish smartly from inside the six-yard box.

O’Hara, playing in her first competitive match since the end of her college season after recovering from a foot injury, doubled the lead in the 75th minute after entering the game just 16 minutes earlier. Poach, a member of the FIFA All-Star Team at the last U-20 World Championship in Russia, sent a cross in from the right wing that flew just over a few Chinese heads to O’Hara, who pounded her header down off the left post and in. O’Hara, who is age-eligible for the next U-20 World Cup in Chile in 2008, has 10 international goals at the U-20 level, but this was her first for the U-21s.

“We dominated the game, made a lot of chances and missed a lot of chances, but other than that, the girls played really well,” said U.S. head coach Bill Irwin. “China got everyone behind the ball and made it difficult for us, but in the second half we made some adjustments and got two goals. Kelsey tucked her chance away well and Kelley finished off a great sequence of ball movement.”

The U.S. defense of center backs Rachel Buehler and Kendall Fletcher and wing backs Stephanie Logterman and Manya Makoski were solid during the game, limiting the dangerous Chinese attacks to a precious few.

The USA’s next match will be against Trinidad & Tobago’s full National Team on Tuesday, April 24 at the Alabama A&M Football Stadium in Huntsville.

Irwin is preparing the U-21s for the annual Nordic Cup, which this year will be held in Finland from July 18-24. The USA won seven Nordic Cup titles in a row before falling last summer to Germany in the title game.

CHICAGO (April 17, 2007) - Forwards Danesha Adams and Kelly O’Hara, both standouts on the U.S. team that played in the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship in Russia, have been added to the U.S. Under-21 Women’s National Team roster for the 2007 Futbol Internacional Tournament, taking place in Alabama from April 22-28 at six venues throughout the state. UCLA’s Adams and Stanford’s O’Hara replace midfielder Tina DiMartino and forward Ella Masar, who are both injured.

O’Hara was scheduled to come into Residency Training Camp with the full U.S. Women’s National Team in early April, but had to delay her first senior team call-up to allow more time for foot injury heal. She was set to join the U.S. team at the start of the next training block on April 21, but due to her call-up with the U-21s, will now come into U.S. camp on April 30.

Adams, who along with Rachel Buehler who will also play for the U-21s in Alabama, have been training with the U.S. team in Residency Camp and will re-join along with O’Hara on the 30th. Adams earned the Bronze Ball in Russia last fall as the third most valuable player in the tournament.

The six-team, nine-match Futbol Internacional tournament features the U.S. U-21s, China’s U-21s and Trinidad & Tobago’s full Women’s National Team in Bracket A while the full Women’s National Team of Argentina joins Canada’s Olympic Development Team, and Mexico’s U-21s in Bracket B.

The two group winners will play for the championship, the second place finishers will play for third and the third-place finishers in each group will meet for fifth place.

The U.S. team, lead by head coach Bill Irwin, will open play on April 22 against China’s U-21s at the famed Legion Field in Birmingham. The USA will also play T&T on April 24 at the Alabama A&M Football Stadium in Huntsville. The placement matches will be held on April 28 at Baker High School Stadium in Mobile. These will mark the first international matches of the year for the U.S. U-21s.

Tickets for all the matches are priced from $12-$16 and can be purchased by going to 2007futbolinternacional.com or at the gate on day of game. US Youth Soccer player may go online at 2007futbolinternacional.com and receive a free ticket to the opening or closing matches.